Tag Archives: managed it services

Time Is Money

~~As if keeping your computer secure from viruses is not hard enough, finding the tools to do so can be just as hard. For someone with little or no knowledge of computers, keeping a computer safe from viruses and malware, or cleaning a computer of viruses and malware, can be a daunting task. There are many different types of software to keep your computer clean and safe, some of them free, and some of them are paid. I’ve found out that the free software can be as good as or even better than some of the paid programs.
TRA Consulting is more than a place like Geek squad or a corner computer store that will clean your computer of viruses and fix your laptop. We focus on taking different types of measures that will prevent your computers from getting infected or breaking. Nowadays Offices rely on having connectivity to the internet as well as to internal resources, such as shared drives and printers. Having unplanned downtime can be costly to a business, so having more than a backup plan is necessary for keeping things running smoothly. Our Philosophy is to provide you with more than a backup plan, but to actually work on preventing issues that will cause downtime in the future. Being security minded, planning for future growth, and making sure you upgrade to newer technology when needed are some of the things we do to keep your business running smoothly 24/7.
Home users have less to worry about than office and enterprise users. Their network and layout are simpler, but their security is just as important. In fact, it might be even more important since they might be more vulnerable than enterprise computers. That is why it’s so important that they have the proper security software at all times. That is why a website such as ninite.com are very useful and time savers for home users. Ninite is a website that allows you to download different types of free software, including antivirus and malware cleaning programs, all at once and package them into a single installed file. All you have to do is run it and it will install the programs you chose to your computer without prompting you for anything. After it’s done, you’ll see the icons in your desktop or in the taskbar. Some of the security programs that you can get from there are Avira, Avast, Microsoft Security Essentials, Malwarebytes, Spybot, and Super Anti Spyware. But those are just a few of the overall programs that you can bundle in a ninite installer. Other programs it includes are messaging programs like Skype, Google talk, and Aim; Media programs like iTunes, VLC, Audacity; Imaging programs like Picasa and GIMP; Document readers like Open Office and Adobe reader; assortment of other things ranging from online storage software like dropbox and Google drive, to Web browsers like Firefox, to miscellaneous ones like Evernote, Google Earth, and Steam.
TRA Consulting services the Long Beach area, as well as the Orange County Area, Southbay Area, and the Greater Los Angeles Area. Call us today

Sharing Is Caring!

~~In this day and age of Social Media, where people share things everyday with people they barely know, what about sharing with the people closest to you; the people in your private home network. There are multiple ways for the average home user to share files with other people in their home network
The easiest and fastest way to share file with people in your home network is to use Windows 7 newest built in Homegroup feature. The Homegroup feature allows for files in your computers public folders to be shared with other people in your private network. Starting a Homegroup is fairly easy. In the network section in control panel, you’ll be given the option to create one (if you’re not already a member of another homegroup or a Domain). Next, you’ll be asked what public folders you want to share, and lastly you’ll be given a password that you need to give to other members who you want to join your homegroup.
Every windows 7 (and windows 8) computer has both a private and public folders. The private folders you can see in the start menu and in the Libraries links. However, when you click on those links, it’ll open the public version of those folders. All you have to do now is to drop any file you want to share in the public folders and Presto!, you’re sharing with your Homegroup members.
The drawback of Homegroups is that the computer has to be on to access the shared files. The workaround that is to instead have a dedicated device that is connected to the network and holds all the shared file; that device is called a Network Attached Storage (aka. NAS). NAS are relatively inexpensive and come with many different storage sizes and features. NAS are basically small computers that come with software to allow it to be seen by the network and to customize sharing permissions. This is something that the average home user might have some trouble configuring, but that is something TRA Consulting can help you with. We not only specialize on PC and Network security, but also in customizing your home and work network to meet your needs. Having proper setup, security, and sharing between your devices makes your network both secure and efficient.
If you were lucky enough to have bought a Windows Home Server Device, or even just the Operating System, that means you have an easy way to share all your files with everyone in your network with minimal work. Unfortunately, Microsoft has shelved that Operating system since 2012, so you cannot longer get it, and no computer company makes those home servers anymore. More than just file sharing, the Windows Home Server could also be a centralized backup for all the computers in your network, it could do media streaming, printer sharing, track the health of the PC’s in the network, and be a gateway to have remote access to your home computer from anywhere on the internet.
At TRA Consulting we have many years’ experience dealing with network and PC security. We service the Long Beach area, as well as the OC, SouthBay, and the Los Angeles Area. Contact us today!

Et Tu SSL?

~~Et tu SSL?
Last month the tech world was filled with stories about the Heartbleed bug. The Heartleed bug was called one of the more serious breaches in security in recent times. What makes is scarier is that the breadth of its impact won’t be exactly known since it went undetected for such a long time and it was in a form of encryption that was thought to be safe and unbreakable: SSL and TLS
At TRA Consulting, we stay on top of the latest Technology trends and security news to help and serve our customers the best we can. Whether you have a big or small office, or are just a home user, we help all our customers achieve peace of mind knowing that their computer and private data is safe from prying eyes. At TRA Consulting we server the Long Beach area, as well as the Southbay, Orange County, and the Greater Los Angeles Area.
SSL Stands for Secure Socket Layer. TLS stands for Transport Layer Security. Most people might not be familiar with this, but if you’ve ever bought something online, you’ve used SSL/TLS. SSL/TLS is used to encrypt websites, such as online stores, email accounts, online banking sites, and government websites. The way that you know if you are in an encrypted website using SSL would be to look at the address bar and notice that the URL (Usually starts with an http://) will now start with an https://. Seeing that was a subconscious sigh of relief in a world full of cyber hacking data breaches. The Heartbleed bug was not a problem in SSL, but in fact, it was in the implementation of it in the OpenSSL Project.
With a bug like this that it completely out of your hands, you might think that there is no way to prevent your computer from being vulnerable, and you might be mostly right. However, there are a few things you can do to neutralize the damage wrought by the heartbleed bug.
First of all, change all of your passwords. If your passwords were compromised, the first thing you should do is to replace them and get new ones. This will neutralize most of the damage the bug could have caused you. Even though the bug has been known for some time, there are still websites out there that haven’t patched it and if you are using them, you are exposing yourself to a security risk. One thing you can do to prevent that is to use the Chrome extension called Chromebleed. It lets you know if the site that you are visiting is still being afflicted by the heartbleed bug.
There are many security risks out there, many that you can prevent, others that are out of your hands. The best way to keep your private data private is to never connect to the internet. But in this day and age that is nearly impossible. Next to that, the best way is taking preventative measures to bolster your computer and network security. At TRA Consulting we pride ourselves in doing just that, helping you keep your data secure. Contact us today.

Windows 7 vs Windows 8(.1)

~~Ever since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP, there has been some confusion as to which is the better operating system to upgrade to: Windows 7 or Windows 8.
The consensus is that Windows 7 is the most robust operating system Microsoft has released since Windows XP. It’s more aesthetically pleasing due to its simplicity and the Aero look glass-like transparency of windows and task bar; more secure due to the bugs fixed since Windows Vista and the more user-friendly User Account Control; simpler to use since it still has the Windows Start Menu and everything is pretty much where they were in previous iterations of Windows.
At TRA Consulting, we pride ourselves in not only helping you fix your computer and network problems, but also in helping you make the transition to newer technologies. If you need help upgrading your Home or Office computer or network, contact us and we’ll swiftly and gladly help you. We service the Long Beach area, as well as the Southbay, Orange, and Greater Los Angeles area.
The biggest gripe the masses have with Windows 8 is the lack of a Start Button and Menu. I do agree that the lack of a Start Button takes some getting used to, almost like you are learning to use a new operating system. The fact of the matter is, that if you take away the desktop from Windows 8, what you have left is Windows RT, the operating system for Windows tablets like Surface and Surface 2 (and the upcoming Surface 3). Side note, the Pro version of these tablets come with full Windows 8, which include a desktop, so it feels like a regular laptop. What Microsoft took away with the legacy Start Button, they instead added access to their new operating system as well as the windows store and their apps. Microsoft listened to the people who said they missed the legacy start button by including it with the release of their 8.1 update, although it did not bring back the legacy start menu. I believe that was a smart move by Microsoft since the legacy start menu would be redundant and clunky, especially on touchscreen devices.
Last, but not least, is the relative faster speed at which windows 8 runs on a computer compared to Windows 7. There have been benchmark tests done comparing the two and windows 8 comes ahead by a slight margin. Some of the reasons why Windows 8 is slightly faster is because windows 8 was made with tablets in mind. Tablets are smaller and mobile, so they cannot have the same horsepower as desktops or laptops, and they need to be energy efficient to not drain battery life. Windows 8 also doesn’t have the gpu resource-hog of Aero glass. This gives Windows 8 a more flat look, but at the same time helps to make switching from the regular desktop to Windows apps very fast and smooth.
Each version of Windows has their advantages and drawbacks, and choosing one is a matter of preference. Despite what you choose, at TRA Consulting we can help you maintain your computer safe from viruses and your data protected from hackers. We service the Long Beach, Orange, Southbay, and Greater Los Angeles Area. Give us a call today!

Double Whammy

~~Microsoft is not having a good month security wise. First of all, their stopping support for their very popular Windows XP OS created a security nightmare for a lot of people who have yet to upgrade their windows XP machines. Secondly, there has been a new flaw in Internet Explorer that has yet to be patched. This new bug has been called the scariest in recent times. If a hacker is able to exploit that weakness, they are able to take over your computer and see everything you are doing. The scary thing is that a lot of bank computers, including ATM’s, that use Windows and rely on internet explorer to go to the internet. This means that there are a lot of computers out there that can be hacked by a cyber attacker.
The scariest scenario is the intersection of those two problems; Windows XP computers with Internet Explorer. The reason is that not only Windows XP is vulnerable because it has not received windows updates since the beginning of April, but compounding it with the internet explorer flaw and the fact that since XP is not going to get the patch for this internet explorer bug, this makes XP users with Internet explorer primed to be hacked at almost any moment. If you are one of these people who have not yet upgraded to Windows 7, please give TRA Consulting a call. We can help you figure out the best option for you to upgrade to a more secure operating system at a price that fits your budget. At TRA Consulting we service the Long Beach, Orange County, Southbay, and greater Los Angeles area. TRA Consulting specializes in small business and home users pc and network security. Call us today.
Though it is imperative that you migrate out of XP into an operating system that is more secure, there are a few things that can be done as a band-aid solution to mitigate this massive security vulnerability.
First, make sure that you have an antivirus program installed and that it had the definitions updated. Make sure to also run a full scan at least once a week
Secondly, use a browser other than Internet Explorer to browse the internet. There are many options out there, like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, Dolphin Browser, etc. Many of these are much safer than Internet Explorer, and some like Google Chrome have java and flash already installed when you download them.
Thirdly, be careful when opening emails, especially if they have attachments. The most popular way for hackers to infect and take over your computer is to send you and email with either an infected attachment that will help them take over your computer when you open it, or it will contain a link that when you click on it, it will send you to a fake website that will ask you for your personal information (phishing). This is more common with elderly and less experienced computer users.
If you need help strengthening your computer and network security, TRA Consulting is here for you.